Five Years of Rain
by tehcandee
Summary: Magneto's plan from 'The Cauldron' to take over the world worked. That's where the normal series ended. The remaining Xmen have been separated for 5 years. Can they find each other and bring Earth out of it's darkness? Please REVIEW! //Rogue is here!//
1. Grey Summer

I know that this story is a lot shorter than my other one, but maybe that's a good thing. This was written in literally five minutes. Hopefully, the next chapters will be a bit more fleshed out. Please tell me if you like my idea and want to read more, so that I know how much time to put into this.

Disclaimer: I do own X-men: Evolution. By the way, if you'd like to see a fifth season, just contact me. (Really?!) No! You idiot. Geez, kids these days.

Background Info:

During the fight on Asteroid M, the enhancer was permanently shut down, but not destroyed. So nobody else can be enhanced, but the people who were enhanced are still enhanced. Mystique supposedly died somehow in that battle. The very first time the remaining X-men tried to make a stand against the Acolytes, they were very badly beaten. None of them knew for a fact that any of the others were still alive or not.

Remaining X-men: Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, Spyke, Jean Grey, Rogue, Toad (cuz he wasn't chosen, remember?), Wolverine, Professor X

Acolytes: Avalanche, Quicksilver, Blob

Enhanced Acolytes: Magneto, Sabertooth, Cyclops, Havok, Storm (she'll be explained later)

STORY STARTS HERE (FINALLY): A GREY SUMMER

A tall, slim figure stood in the corner of a dimly lit room, packed with all sorts of flashing, blinking screens. There were occasional bursts of conversation and the odd beep from one of the many radars. This was the resistance; the last remaining free humans, who would stop at nothing to end the evil dictatorship controlling the earth. All this was here because of one person- one young woman, barely 23 years old. She went only by the name of Grey Summer.

The figure in the corner began to fidget with her filthy, but none the less, still beautiful faded shoulder length red hair. She knew someone was coming towards her, even without turning around. She could sense it.

"Grey." said a voice from behind the woman, "We've found something."

The woman sighed, turned around, and began to float a few inches off the ground, to where a small group of people were gathered. A man stood up.

"About 80 miles from here, there is an old warehouse." he declared, "All entrances have been recently sealed with heavy metals. I don't think even you could get in, Miss. Grey Summer."

"Thank you, Ryan." said Grey with a hint of annoyance in her voice. She had never liked Ryan much, as he was constantly hitting on her, and reminding her that Cyclops was lost to the dark side forever. Grey knew this was very likely true, but the hope of bringing Scott back was the provider of all of her motivation to keep fighting.

Everyone was waiting for the plan now. It was time to think fast. "Okay, got it!" announced Grey triumphantly, "I'll get Nightcrawler to bring us there, then have Shadowcat check it's really him in there. If it is, Cyclops will blast a hole in the side, and then we'll go straight into battle positions."

For a few seconds everything was quiet. "Grey…" stuttered Ryan, "Those people don't exist. Are you alright?"

"Yes they do!" snapped Grey as she turned around sharply, her hair whipping the air. She stormed out of the room and down a narrow hallway. She slammed the door to her small room, threw herself down on her bed and began to cry. What if they actually didn't exist anymore? She hadn't seen her friends for over five years. The very first time they had gone up against the Acolytes, they had been separated. Grey, herself had been rescued by the resistance and had been there ever since, and lately, she couldn't help wondering where the other x-men were now.


	2. Spyke

Hey, peoples. Here's another chapter. It's twice as long, and I think a little better written. Keep in mind that these first few chapters are just outlining where the characters fit into the story, and once I get into the actual plot and I have stuff to write about, they'll be longer. However, I am very short for ideas for this story. I NEED REVIEWS! Anything you'd like to see happen: any couples, any conflicts, anything at all.

I do not own X-men: Evolution, and I'm too lazy to think of something clever to say right now.

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CHAPTER TWO- SPYKE

A boy of no more than 19 years old splashed through a grungy sewer pipe. Spyke had been running away from nothing to nowhere for the last five years. He couldn't even remember the last time he talked to someone other than himself. Everywhere he went, he quickly earned a reputation as the insane stranger that had to get out of town- or else. It wasn't really his fault. He'd become so lonely, that he began to pretend there were people there. Five years completely alone was enough to drive anyone over the edge. Why hadn't he tried to meet new people? Spyke didn't trust anyone that his Auntie O didn't.

Auntie O didn't trust anyone anymore. She could barely even be called alive. Her soul had been taken by the gem of Cyttorak. Sure she still had her memories. She knew who he was. But all feelings, all thoughts were detached and thrown away. Storm couldn't remember why she made the choices she had in the past, but insisted on believing that it must have been for useless emotion. All she had now was a burning desire to follow orders, and an undying willingness to serve at Magneto's side. That wasn't the real Ororo Munroe at all.

Spyke came to a ladder that led up to the street. "Do you think I should go check out the scene?" he asked himself. He paused for a second, and then said, "Yeah, you're right. I really should be in the know about where the hell I am." He bounded up the ladder in two steps, pushed open the cover and climbed out into the dim evening light. Although the sun had nearly set completely, the light was blinding to Spyke, who hadn't been above ground in two days. He looked around and commented, "Hey man, this place looks just like that street in Bayville that that jerk, Pietro trashed it."

He pulled a rugged skate board out of his backpack and sped off down the street, looking possibly for food or a place to stay the night. The sewers just didn't cut it as a bedroom. After five years, Spyke still wasn't used to it. There was a cheer in the distance. That meant people. That's where he needed to be, not in this ragged abandoned junkyard. He sped off in that direction.

As Spyke got closer, the cheers grew more frequent. Eventually, he arrived at some sort of gym. For a second, he debated going in to watch whatever event was going on. Then, of course, there were cameras at the entrance. Spyke knew better than to purposely post his face all over Magneto's cameras. At the moment, the Acolytes thought he was dead, and he intended to keep it that way. "No problem." he told himself, and a couple dozen half-inch spikes grew out of his palms. Then he stuffed his skateboard back into his pack and walked over to the wall and began to climb. There were a series of small windows close to the ceiling. Spyke looked in and a word immediately caught his eye: 'Hawks'.

"That's funny." he chuckled, "That's the alma moter's mascot." He looked back at the massive red and gold banner. "Whoa, man." he breathed, "It is Bayville."

The first thing that came into Spyke's mind was curfew. "Dammit, man!" he groaned, "Gotta get back to the institute. The prof'll have a fit." He climbed down the building swiftly, jumping the last eight feet and landing silently in the sparse grass. He pulled his skate board back out and, with a few clatters of pavement against plastic, disappeared into the night.

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Soon enough, Spyke was snapped back to the present. When he arrived at the institute, standing outside the large decorated gate was a large man… a really large man. He was obviously mutated. A few to many chins to be natural and a small amount of matted blonde hair told Spyke that this was definitely an Acolyte: Blob. He was one of the 'winners', who didn't get a chance to be enhanced five years ago.

Obviously, there would be no getting past Blob. Spyke's powers were practically useless against his blubbery impenetrable skin. There wasn't really any other choice, actually. If Wolverine was still alive, which Spyke had absolutely no doubt about, the mansion's security would be as tough as ever, if not stronger. The only way would be to get the miniature giant away from his post. Suddenly, he had an idea. Three spikes grew out of his arm, creating even more holes in his already destroyed sleeve. Then, he shot the spikes as far as he possibly could into some bushes across the road and down a little ways from the gate.

Blob took off after the sound as fast as his stubby legs would carry him, and Spyke sprinted to the gate. He flipped open the faintly glowing finger print scanner and pressed his hand against it. "Please let this work!" he prayed silently. Miraculously, the gate creaked open. "Welcome, Evan Daniels." said the tiny speaker in a weak robotic voice.

"Daniels?!" roared Blob as he stumbled back out on to the road, "Get back here! You're supposed to be dead!"

Spyke took off, sprinting as fast as he possibly could. The gates crashed shut, just as Blob hit them. "Get back here!" he yelled again.

In response, Spyke just laughed and replied, "Catch you later, Dude!"

As he approached the massive building, a dim light came into view. It was on the second floor, and seemed to be coming from a candle, due to the constant flickering. "Professor." thought Spyke as hard as he could, "Professor, are you there?"


	3. Katherine

Who do we like? Did you guess requim17? If you did, then you're one smart cookie! Thankyou for your reviews I read them both like 5 times and guess what! I now have a plot line planned out. I used your idea for a plot twist (well almost, but it's the same idea thingy) in this chapter, but you can't really tell. When I post the next part of this story line, then it will be obvious. I also really liked your Brotherhood turning good idea, but I think Pietro will stay bad, just because of his father and stuff. As for Wanda- Wanda? Who's that? To answer your question, in this story it is like the last three seasons didn't ever happen. So Wanda doesn't exist.

As per request of requim, I have decided I need a name for Jean's rebellion group. Suggestions anyone? Come one, there has to be more than one reader. Let's say no more Jean plot line until a good name is found, or until I feel like writing it. Kay?

Disclaimer: Do I own X-men: Evolution? Pfft. Yeah I do. Don't you know anything? I own the whole world. I am god- Bwah ha ha ha! (No I do not own X-men, genius)

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SHADOWCAT

"Well, then." said Muriel triumphantly, "Congratulations, Katherine. You are the Fab Fashion House's newest employee. Could you possibly start tomorrow?"

Muriel was the manager of the hottest clothing store in the Central Boston mall, and Katherine had just received the job that every girl between the ages of 15 and 30 was after. She was so excited, that she could barely contain her excitement. None the less, Katherine managed to keep her cool. After all, that was what had gotten her the job in the first place. It was definitely not the lies in her resume. No, of course not- it was all her.

"Thank you so much, Muriel." beamed Katherine, "I'll be here any time you want me to be. Tomorrow will be great."

"You're welcome, Hun." replied Muriel, "Just wear something cute, okay?"

Katherine giggled. "You can certainly bet on that." she joked as she picked up her binder and stood up from the pink leather chair she'd been sitting in.

"Oh, wait." called Muriel, "Before you leave- here's your name tag."

Katherine took the deep purple piece of plastic from the woman's heavily manicured nails, smiling sweetly. This was going to be gre- Her breath froze in her chest when she saw what was written there.

"Kitty?" she asked, looking extremely shocked, before regaining her composure.

"Yes, dear." replied Muriel, "I thought it sounded younger, cuter, and more like you. Haven't you ever been called that before?"

"Oh… um, no." stuttered Katherine, trying to sound sweet and perky, although she was incredibly shaky, "But you're right… It really does sound cute. I like it, thanks!"

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A couple hours later, Katherine was frantically digging through her purse. "Where are those keys?" she repeated for the eighth time, "Where ARE those keys?"

She was standing outside her first very own apartment. Only one week ago, she'd managed to land a job that enabled her to live without a room mate. It was just so much easier to keep secrets when you weren't with people all the time. The only problem was that at the moment, this wonderful one bedroom sweet didn't have a door key. Of course Katherine knew full well that she didn't actually need a key, and she could get in with practically no effort with or without a key, but that was completely out of the question. Instead, she gathered up her heavy shopping bags and pushed the elevator button using her toe. It was down to the caretaker's room to retrieve the spare key for her.

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Finally, inside her apartment, Katherine collapsed on the couch. Something was digging into her thigh. She stood up and wrestled the nametag out of her front jean pocket. Throwing herself back down, Katherine groaned. Lies: they were so annoying. Of course she was feeling bad about lying to get the dream job, but what was she supposed to do? Tell the truth about the first 15 years of her life? Obviously, she couldn't do that. If anyone – anyone at all recognized her name, background, birthday, or previous home then it would all be over. Honestly, how was a girl like her going to survive on the run?

"Oh snap out of it, Kitty!" said a voice in her head, "You know full well that you're tougher than that."

"Kitty may be tough. Shadowcat might be tough. But Katherine is most definitely not tough." she thought back.

"What does it say on your name tag, Kitty?" pressed the voice.

"Shutup!" snapped Katherine out loud, "That's not me anymore. I left all that behind. I'd rather live like this than not at all."

Tears welled up in her eyes, making her mascara run. She crossed her living room in three strides and locked herself in her bathroom. She stepped into the shower and turned on the water, not caring that her designer clothes were being ruined.


	4. Coming Together

Leh gasp! A plot line is being continued? OMGZ U GUYZ! We are back to the duh nuh nuh nuh... Spyke's plot line! Just a reminder, I still need a super cool name for Jean's rebellion. Suggestions anyone? puppy dog eyes Thank you very, very much to SouthernLoner and Jutwfiniei for reviewing. Oh, and I love bashing. cough she's crazy cough BUT... only if it's constructive. 'OMFG u lyk totlly suk. u shud go die bcuz ihat chu!!!!!!!!!111!!!!!11' is not constructive criticism.  
-tehcandee

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COMING TOGETHER

"Professor." thought Spyke as hard as he could, "Professor, are you there?"

He waited. There was no answer. "Oh well," he sighed, "As long as I'm here, I'd better try and get in side." Slowly, keeping a sharp eye out for security weapons, Spyke made his way up the staircase to the front door. He ran his fingers lightly over the electric door lock on one of the crumbling concrete walls next to the cracked glass panels of glass in the door. "Aw, man." he cursed, "It's busted." Of course he could smash the frail deteriorating glass with just one good kick, but Spyke had a feeling that might set off some sort of alarm. Maybe he'd try and climb to the roof, where the only unsealed way in had been when he was fourteen.

He turned around and made it down two steps before the doors creaked open. "Dude, now that's freaky." gasped Evan, wide eyed. Then, against all common sense, he entered the shadowy building. Inside the building was just as impressive as it had always been. Although it was dark, the crimson carpet on the grand staircase didn't have a thread out of place, and the extravagant chandelier hung perfectly, aside from the fact that no light came from it.

Spyke tentatively stepped forwards. Slowly making his way up the stairs and down the hall to where he'd seen the light. About half way down the hall, he heard a low growling noise. Someone came down from the ceiling, landing with a soft thump. "I thought I smelled scum." snarled a voice from out of the darkness.

There was a sound of metal against metal. "I thought I smelled scum." snarled a voice. There was another growl, louder and more defined this time. The figure pounced out of the shadows. Spyke just barely dodged him by diving to the side. He tried to get up, but a grimy boot was pressing down hard on his chest, and three slinder metal blades were inces away from his throat. "Don't move a muscle" said Wolverine. Spyke did as he was told.

"Chuck!" called Wolverine, "We've got an Acolyte on our hands." There was a humming sound- so quiet that it was almost undetectable. The light source drew closer. charels Xavier Appeared by Wolverine's side. Spyke gasped, but then felt the cold metal come to res on his throat, making him freeze again.

"Calm down, Logan." said the steady voice of the professor, "Remember, we never actually determined which side Evan was on. Give the boy a chance to speak for himself."

Wolverine retracted his claws, but kept his foot in place. "Evan?" Spyke asked himself in a whisper, "Evan… Evan is me. That's right, Evan was my real name."

"Well, get on with it." pressed Wolverine, "Before I start shredding your traitorous head to pieces."

"I… I… No…" stuttered Spyke, finding it awkward talking to someone else, "I've been living in the sewers. Just… hiding. I… I'm not an Acolyte. No- how could I be? They… they thought I was dead."

"He's telling the truth." said the Professor, "Let him up."

Wolverine removed his boot from Spyke's chest and held out a hand. Spyke took it nervously and himself to be hauled up to a standing position. The Professor turned and headed towards an open door, out of which the Professor had come from. Spyke followed, shaking violently.

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Spyke was given some food, and that night, he slept in his old room. It was exactly as he'd left it. Nothing had changed.

The next morning, as everyone was sitting in Professor Xavier's office eating breakfast, Spyke learned that he would not be staying for long, and Wolverine found out that his time at the institute would be coming to an end.

"Things are beginning to come together, now." announced Professor Xavier, "We must now help them along, before they unravel and we end up right where we started again."


	5. Avalanched With the Past

Thanks to Jutwfiniei for reviewing. This chapter is a little shorter than I planned, but I decided it made sense to cut off where I did. There might be another Kitty chapter coming up as number six, since I already know what I'm going to write for what should have been the second half of this chapter. But this way, there's more to read sooner than usual. Oh, and by the way there's Lancitty coming up really soon, in case you didn't guess.

Reminder: I still haven't got any suggestions for Jean's rebellion's name. There will not be any more of her until I get at least one. It doesn't matter how lame you think your idea is. I can garuntee that it'll be better than mine is. Please tell me it! Let's put it this way: there can't be any Nightcrawler without more Jean. Come on people! Do it for the elf.

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Katherine had been working at the Fab Fashion House for about a month when things started to change. The rain was pounding on the massive skylights just as hard as usual, the whole building was sparkling clean as usual and the mall was just as crowded as usual. These were the things that the normal people would notice. The changes were small things. Miniscule details that someone had made an effort to cover up. Everyone went about their business as usual, but Katherine was constantly feeling on edge- expecting something to happen every time she turned around.

These small things included small black squares with tiny blinking lights and what could possibly miniature camera lenses. The anti-dictatorship graffiti in the washrooms had been painted over. I could have just been that the mall felt like repainting, but combined with other things, it made Katherine suspicious. Business owners seemed more uptight than usual. Muriel wasn't acting herself at all either. She insisted that all her employees be on their best behavior, and she introduced a uniform.

In response to all this, Katherine began wearing even more makeup than usual, bought some big sunglasses, and she got a haircut that let her bangs hang low all around her face. She did her best to avoid looking at the small black squares, which she was sure were cameras linking back to Magneto's base. Unfortunately, she couldn't remain off camera forever, so hopefully her precautions would disguise her well enough. Of course these were all just suspicions, but they were not suspicions to ignore. Regrettably, her fears were confirmed about a month later.

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A young girl about 13 years old rushed up to Katherine and tapped her on the shoulder. Katherine turned around. "Um…" began the girl. Her eyes flicked down to the purple nametag on Katherine's chest and then back up. "Kitty, could you tell me which one looks better with my skin tone?"

Katherine gritted her teeth and groaned internally. She tilted her head to one side, thinking for a moment, and then put on a smile and said, "The blue definitely."

"Thanks!" said the girl, throwing the brown top back on top of the rack and racing off towards the dressing rooms. Katherine sighed and put the top back in its correct place. She was going to _kill_ that name tag.

She spied a baby tee out of place near the front of the store. Muriel would have a fit if she saw it. Whatever was going on, it sure as hell better end soon. Katherine was getting annoyed. Honestly, why did all of this stuff from the past have to keep interfering with her life? She was so involved in being annoyed, that she didn't notice that she was staring at someone. When she realized she quickly turned away. Then she turned back. Was that who she thought it was? She kept looking at the tall, handsome brunette sitting on a bench in outside the store out of the corner of her eye. He strangely resembled Lance, a boy about a year older than her, who she used to know very well. But it couldn't actually be him.

He was living the life of his dreams as the bad guy. A part of Magneto's team. Katherine didn't know why he stayed. He was never going to be advanced. The generator was shut down. She'd personally made sure of that. She smirked, and realized that she'd been glaring at the boy. Just to her luck, he'd noticed, and was now standing up and walking in her general direction.

Katherine quickly put a hand to her headset, pretending to get an urgent call to the back of the store. She started walking quickly, but not quick enough. Sure enough, Katherine felt a hand on her shoulder. It made her flinch. She really didn't want to turn around, but she knew she had to. Although she knew it was useless, she pulled off her nametag and shoved it in her pocket. Turning around slowly, she kept her head down.

"Hello, Miss." said Lance, with a hint of mocking in his voice, "Erm… Do you have a name by any chance?"

"Elsie." blurted Katherine, and she immediately regretted it. What a dorky name! Muriel was going to kill her. Lance smiled and 'accidentally' bushed her are with his fingertips. Katherine took as step backwards, and bumped into a rack of low-rise jeans. "Can I help you with anything, sir?" she asked, still looking awkwardly at anywhere but his face.

"Yes, I'm looking for a certain person by the name of Kitty Pryde. Do you know her?"

"Nobody here by that name." replied Katherine quickly.

"Well then." teased Lance, pretending to be disappointed, "Then I guess I'll just see if anyone else here knows who I'm talking about. Then I'll be on my way."

"No!" shrieked Katherine. A couple of people looked at her. She smiled sweetly and people returned to their business. Blushing furiously, she grabbed Lance's wrist. He caught her eyes with his and suddenly, Katherine couldn't look away. Lance smirked and chuckled a little. She shook her head a little to get her bearings again. "Sir, I would like you to leave right now." said Katherine slowly and seriously, "I can get my manager and she'll have security come and take you away."

"That's all right." said Lance, practically glowing he was smiling so wide, "I've found everything I need."

Katherine made sure he had left, and then turned around and put a hand on the rack of pants, which she'd bumped into a few minutes, which had seemed like hours, earlier. That did not just happen.


	6. Kitty

Thanks to Baird Crevan for reviewing. Requim17, here's your plot twist. Sorry about the end of this chapter. To me, it seems a little cheezy. I am REALLY bad at writing romance stuffs, but I'm working on it. My lack of skill is definitely not because of my absence of experience. No, not at all. Remember that, kay?

OOH! AND IT'S SNOWING!!!!!!!!! We have like a foot of snow. Yay! I'm so excited!

Disclaimer: Do I own X-men? Are elephants orange with purple polka-dots? Do trains sing screamo songs about hamburgers? Of course I do! (That means no, genius)

Anyways, enjoy.

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KITTY

Katherine glanced at the clock for the sixty-first time in the last minute. Yes! The clock had finally changed. So it wasn't broken after all. Just two more minutes and she could go home and clear her head. By now the evening rush was over. The after-work shoppers were all slowly making their way back to their would-be-shiny cars. Looking past the mannequins and hanging banners advertising the end of the chaotic fourteen day sale the store had just been through, Katherine could see the pelting rain.

A co-worker came to stand beside her. "Oh, Storm." mumbled Katherine, "Why can't you do good things with your gift anymore?"

"Did you say something?" asked the co-worker, giving her a puzzled look.

"Oh… no." replied Katherine, suddenly snapping back into reality, "Anything I can do for you?"

The co-worker laughed. "I'm not a customer." she joked, "Anyways; it's time for you to go home. That's probably a good thing. You seem dead tired."

"Yeah, you're right." said Katherine weakly, as she untangled her headset from a lock of hair, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Yep, you can sure count on that." commented the co-worker, "Oh, here. Let me take that back for you." She hurriedly took the headset and the small black box that it was connected to out of Katherine's hands and strode quickly to the other end of the store.

"Thanks a lot!" called Katherine as she scooped up her purse and walked out into the bright light of the hallway.

She had some time to kill; a lot of time, actually. It was another hour before the next bus going to her neighborhood would be arriving. Katherine hated the bus with a passion. Unfortunately, she didn't really have any choice. After failing her driver's test exactly 26 times, the school had suggested that she wait a few years before attempting to get behind the wheel again. As much as her difficulties usually annoyed her, Katherine laughed at herself quietly. She was recalling the time when Wolverine had attempted to give her a driving lesson. **(A/N: Yes, I know that was in the third season, but now it's in the first, okay? I liked that episode, and I'm going to refer back to it. So deal with it.)**

God! What was wrong with her? First she was thinking about Storm, and now Wolverine? What next? The time a food fight had broken out in the Bayville high cafeteria? Now she was doing it again! And this was all because stupid Lance had showed up and ruined everything. She totally had to quit being so like… pathetic. And now she was thinking like Kitty. Perfect- just perfect.

Totally immersed in her thoughts, Katherine neglected to notice the heated argument that was stirring up all around her. She could vaguely hear a chorus of aggravated voices coming from somewhere around her. But it all seemed insignificant, so she kept walking, with a slight frown and her eyes focused straight ahead. Unfortunately, Katherine's wakeup call came a little too late. There was a deafening bang of a gun shot and then there was a stray bullet flying straight for her.

A split second later, Katherine was lying on the ground with an excruciating pain in her shoulder, and blood pooling on the white stone floor. She was starting to feel a little faint. There was an explosion of voices.

"Someone call 911!"

"I know first aid; I'm here to help you." Gentle hands took her head and held it there.

"Can anyone identify her?"

"Give her some space, people!"

"Kitty? Kitty!" It was Lance. "What happened to her?"

"I'm going to have to ask you to stand back, sir."

"No!" protested Lance, angrily, "I need to know if she's alright."

"Do you know this young woman? Can you identify her?"

"Her name is Katherine." he gasped, now hyperventilating, "Katherine Pryde. She works at the Fab Fashion House."

"Thank you, sir. You've been very helpful, but it's best that you leave now. Unless, of course, you have a legitimate connection to Miss. Pryde."

"Legitimate connection?" stuttered Lance, "I… she's my girlfriend."

GIRLFRIEND?! Oh, that jerk. He was going to get it. There was nothing that Katherine wanted to do more than stand up and slap him as hard as she possibly could. He really would say anything for that stupid bucket head. But when she tried to get up, someone immediately held her down.

Then the ambulance crew arrived. They got her onto a stretcher and pressed something soft onto her wound.

"Alright, you can come in the ambulance."

What? Now he was coming to the hospital with her? He'd better not be there when she could move again, or else he was going to be sorry. Very, very sorry. That was the last thing Katherine remembered thinking before she passed out.

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Slowly, the world began to re-create its self around Katherine. The first thing she heard was Lance. "No, it's quite alright doctor." said Lance, exercising his impressively good gentleman alter-ego, "I can drive her home. It's the first place I'll be going, anyways."

"All right, Mister… Alvers." replied a voice, which probably belonged to a doctor, "I see no problem with your request."

"And no mention of her condition to anyone?" asked Lance, almost menacingly.

"No, of course not." confirmed the doctor, "The real records have been burned and replaced with fake results. I'll just give you a moment alone with her."

Katherine tried to call out to the doctor, but her throat felt dry and her limbs felt too heavy to move. Unfortunately, the doctor didn't notice her feeble movements, but Lance did. As soon as they were alone, Lance moved over to her side and stroked her hair.

"And she awakens." he mocked playfully.

"Alright, what do you want from me? I'll tell you if it's going to happen or not right now, and you can save yourself the trouble of driving me home." said Katherine in a bored voice, talking over the buzz of her electric bed as it forced her into a sitting position. Courtesy of you know who.

"I want you to not tell Magneto that I'm doing this." he stated clearly, "And then I'm here to do whatever I need to do to help you recover."

"So that I can owe you and be forced into Acolyte duty." accused Katherine, "I don't think so. The life of the evil underdog doesn't suit everyone, Lance."

"Kitty, I know you won't believe me, but I really don't want to be there either." admitted Lance sheepishly.

Katherine laughed. "Yeah, right!" she scoffed, "And stop calling me that. It's Katherine now."

"Do you have any idea what Magneto would do to me if he found me betraying him like this?" asked Lance, with a hint of panic in his voice, "I don't even want to know. I'm risking more for you than I've ever had right now."

"God, Lance!" snapped Katherine, "You are such a coward! Just… like, grow a backbone, would you?"

He laughed softly. "Why don't you get yours back… Katherine?"

"Oh, shut up!" she distracted him; "By the way, what was that 'condition' you were talking to the doctor about?"

"Your heart and breathing rates, as well as your blood type." answered Lance, "It's not human, obviously. If you've already gone through so much trouble to hide, I didn't think you'd want something like this to ruin everything."

Katherine tried to glare at him, but she found herself smiling instead. When she tried to correct her expression, it ended up looking like she was trying to make a funny face. Finally, she decided to forget being annoyed and go with grateful, "Thanks." she said, simply.

Soon after that, the doctor returned. He handed Katherine a few bottles of pills to take everyday, and informed her that the bullet had been removed, and it was just the tissue that had been harmed. Then, very reluctantly, she got into Lance's car and was on her way home.

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"You lost your job." said Lance to break the awkward silence that had gripped the car for the past five minutes.

"I figured that." sighed Katherine, "Muriel won't let anyone take a day off, no matter what."

"Not even if they're on their death bed?" questioned Lance.

"Nope, not a chance." replied Katherine.

"Can I ask you something?" asked Lance, who appeared to be deep in thought.

"Um…" pondered Katherine, "It' depends, I guess. But probably."

"Why didn't you phase through the bullet?" asked Lance, "I know you saw it coming."

"I…" began Katherine, before stopping to think. "I don't remember how." she admitted.

Lance laughed. "You can't remember?" he asked in disbelief, "Are you serious?" He was still laughing.

Katherine blushed. "Yes, I am serious." she defended, "It's been five years since I've tried, and now I can't remember how."

"Reach into the glove box right now." commanded Lance, "It's locked, and I've got a stash of chocolate bars in there."

"Now that's not fair!" complained Katherine.

"Yes, it is." replied Lance, "You of all people should know that nothing comes for free."

She shot him a sideways glare, and placed her hand on the cool, hard plastic surface. She took a couple deep breaths and pressed her hand harder against the glove box. The plastic creaked a little, but Kitty's hand stayed firmly on the outside.

Lance gave her a small look of disapproval. "Keep trying." he encouraged.

Katherine attempted the seemingly impossible task of shoving her hand through the solid plastic a couple more times, before giving up and saying, "You really aren't a very good bad guy. Why are you planning to reward me with chocolate?"

"Alright then." agreed Lance, and Katherine immediately regretted criticizing him. He pulled over to the side of the road, reached over and opened the passenger side door. He hit the button on Katherine's seatbelt and gently nudged her until she got out of the car. Then he quickly slammed the door closed again, and locked it. Outside, the rain was pounding, and Katherine only had a light cotton shirt on, with brown khaki capris.

"Lance!" she shrieked, "Let me back in right now!"

"Let yourself in." replied Lance.

Gritting her teeth and trying desperately, Katherine pressed her good shoulder against the car door. "Lance, I can't." she pleaded desperately.

Lance got out of the car and walked around to where she was standing. "Damn, you're stubborn." he commented.

"Stop being such a jerk and let me in." she shouted, her voice barely audible over the howling wind.

"You know, I'm still not being bad enough." said Lance nervously, "I should make this benefit me as well."

"What do you…" Katherine began to ask. Her question was cut off when Lance shoved her back against the car, soaking her drenched clothing even more. "I've wanted to do this for five years." he whispered in her ear before crashing his lips into hers. When they pulled away for oxygen, Lance said, "If you want me to stop, then you know what to do. I promise I'll leave you alone after that."

Katherine nodded and Lance began to kiss her neck. Struggling to concentrate, she somehow gasped out, "I don't think I want you to stop."

"And that's just fine with Me." replied Lance softly.

Finally, Kitty was able to relax. As the cars raced by, the two of them fell not-so-gracefully through the side of the car, landing roughly on the gear shift stick thingy. **(A/N: I don't drive. No duh!) **After a grunt of pain from Kitty, Lance helped her up into a sitting position and climbed back into the driver's seat. He started the engine and turned on the heating to full blast.

"Good job." he said, reaching over to brush a strand of wet hair out of her eyes.

Kitty took an elastic band out of her pocket and pulled her dark hair into a ponytail. She looked over and smiled a real smile.

"It's great to have you back, Kitty." said Lance, being incredibly out of character and lighting up the whole rain soaked highway with a smile.

"It's good to be back."


	7. Nightcrawler

_Sorry it took me so long to get this up, but school is really crazy right. I have decided to leave the rebellion nameless, as I haven't gotten even one suggestion. This chapter, as you probably guessed is where Nightcrawler enters the story. Be excited peoples! On a not so exciting note, I would like to take this chance to complain about my lack of reviews. I have gotten 2 at the most reviews, and zero for some others. Lets try and aim for three, okay? Three reviews, or no chapter! _

_Thanks to an anon. reviewer by the name of 'me' and justanotherfanatic for reviewing. Justanotherfanatic, I don't really know why there aren't any new mutants, I just know that they're not there. When I first thought up the story, I made it sot that the scientist that did the experimenting on Wolverine found a way to stop them being born. Then I realized that was stupid and unbelievable, so I hoped nobody would ask instead. _

_3 REVIEWS OR NO CHAPTER EIGHT!_

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There was a knock on the door. "Miss. Summer?" called Ryan, "It's time to go."

"Thanks." groaned Grey, "I'll be there in a few minutes outside the base, okay?"

"I'll ready the trucks." said Ryan, and then Grey heard his foot steps fading away down the hall. She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. It had been next to impossible to sleep last night. She'd kept on waking up from nightmare that she couldn't remember. She had a pretty good guess on what they'd been about, though. Grey shuttered at the thought of having to possibly see the man who had done all this to her and her friends. On top of that, Cyclops might be there. Every time she saw him, it took all her self-control not to bring him back to the resistance with them. That would be suicidal.

She stood up and made one of her stress balls fly off a shelf and hit her hard in the cheek. She winced at the pain, but at least she was awake now. There was no way she could risk being drowsy during a fight. The ball slowly floated back to the shelf, and the latch on the window undid itself. The window sprung open, and Grey floated through it. Hovering in mid air, she watched the latches replace themselves before flying away down to meet the rest of the resistance.

"Okay, boys!" she announced, still several feet off the ground, "Let's get this show on the road!" The soldiers piled into the trucks, and Grey took her place on the roof of the leading one. The trucks sped off, and she held on tightly with a look of intense determination on her face and her bright hair blowing behind her like a flag.

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About an hour later, the resistance was standing behind Grey Summer in a battle formation outside a three story warehouse building. They weren't doing much, though- Just standing there in the rain, getting slowly more drenched. Grey was standing there with her eyes closed. She could sense something unusual in the building. Whatever it was, it was sleeping. It seemed helplessly innocent and frightened. Yet brave and determined at the same time. Like a child, but different. Above all, there was a sense of desperation. She knew she'd felt something like this before- a long time ago. Still, she could just not pinpoint exactly what it was.

Behind her, the soldiers were getting restless. The one nearest to her right unzipped his pocket and pulled out a snack bar. Suddenly, she felt the need to help whatever was inside there. But she couldn't risk it. She needed to figure out what she was up against. But of course, her feelings had to over rule common sense once again. She decided that she was going to check it out, all safety rules cast aside.

Grey turned to face her troops to tell them to wait for her, when the soldier with the snack bar opened the wrapper. After that, everything happened extremely fast. There was a jolt in the back of her mind as she felt the sleeping something in the warehouse behind her awaken. There was a flash of light shining brightly against the dark world. There was a midnight coloured stick-like figure clinging to the leg of the soldier with the food. In the blink of an eye, every soldier had they're gun cocked and aimed right for the creature.

"NO!" shrieked Grey, sounding very out of character.

She quickly regained her composure and continued more calmly, "Guns down, men. Mike, give him the bar."

There was a chorus of clicks as safety locks were reinstated on over 100 guns. When every weapon was safely stored on the belts of every soldier, Mike was still frozen on the spot.

"Mike, give him the bar." repeated Grey. Mike just stood there looking terrified. The creature whimpered pitifully.

Grey sighed and made the snack bar float out of his hand and into her own. She crouched down, and the small figure detached itself from Mike's leg. It looked at Grey with sad golden eyes.

"Kurt?" asked Grey softly. The creature's elf-like ears twitched in recognition of the name. "Kurt." she continued, completely removing the wrapper off of the bar, "You can have this." She held it out towards him on a flat hand.

Kurt hobbled forwards on all fours. He gingerly lifted one three fingered hand and took the bar, quickly stuffing it past a set of fangs, which stood out dramatically against his midnight blue skin. Grey noticed that he had patches of fur missing, and his entire body was even more skin and bone than when he had been getting fed regularly back at the institute. He appeared a grotesque, deformed monster. Grey could tell that he was just one step away from death. No wonder the troops had been so afraid when they saw him.

"You come with me, alright?" whispered Grey, "We'll get you some more food back at the base."

Kurt made a pathetic sound and attached himself to her leg. She took that as a yes.

She stood up carefully, making sure not to hurt Kurt when he was in such a venerable state. "Into the trucks boys!" she instructed, "I'll need a space inside this time."

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On the way back to the base, Kurt had fallen asleep again in Grey's lap. When they arrived, she floated Kurt out of the truck and using her telekinesis, unlocked and opened the heavy non-magnetic doors to the base. Once securely inside with the entire resistance gathered around the small cot where the frail figure of Nightcrawler lay, Grey ordered a dozen members to bring the contents of the kitchen to the bed side. "Oh, and lots of doughnuts!" she called as they were about to leave the room. Kurt stirred at the word, but remained asleep.

When the food arrived, and Kurt snapped awake, Grey ordered everyone out. There were tears in her eyes, she was so happy. This was the first thing that had happened in five years that had given her hope. If Kurt was alive, then maybe some of the others were too. What if Kurt even knew where some of the others were? Of course she wouldn't interrogate him until he had reached full health. Right now he didn't seem to be talking at all. He may have seemed to be acting different at the moment, but Grey could tell that in his mind, he was still the same old goofy Kurt she knew.


	8. Flashback

_Okay, so I haven't updated in forever and two days. Sorry about that- major writers block/ school stress/ author breakdown occurred. This chapter is a flashback to the cauldron episode where everything went wrong. And you know what I did? I typed out the entire episode! I realize now that was a HORRIBLE idea. Just scroll down to where what I wrote myself starts. Oh my fucking god- I am such an idiot. I will now slam my head into a wall. Anyways, now this is up. Go Candee! So... enjoy and down forget to review. I think my next chapter will be about Spyke and Wolverine. _

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FLASHBACK

"Scott…" asked Professor Xavier, with a hint of pleading in his voice, "I… I don't understand…"

"Wait, Professor!" Scott cut him off, "We're just here to listen, that's all."

"What about them? Are they here to listen as well?" questioned the professor. Jean, Orroro, and Rogue stood silently in glass tubes with their heads bowed and eyes closed.

Scott gasped and suddenly turned to Magneto. "Hey!" he shouted, "What is this?"

"Just a precaution, Scott." stated Magneto calmly, "Not everybody has the maturity to change as you do. Not yet."

Scott began to get agitated. "Let them out! Now!" he shouted, while placing a hand on the side of his glasses, aiming his eyes at the metal-clad figure.

Lance stepped forward, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"I will." assured Magneto, "We just need to proceed cautiously. Trust me, they're perfectly safe."

"Are they safe, Scott?" asked Professor Xavier telepathically, "Are any of us safe? I know this man well, and his motives cannot be trusted."

A careless glace from Scott clued Magneto into their silent conversation. He raised a hand, and the professor was moved onto a small platform, upon which a clear tube came down to rest. It filled with some sort of gas, and the professor's head drooped, and he fell into an induced sleep.

The second before he became unconscious, Professor Xavier frantically sent a message to Wolverine. "Logan! Logan! Lose the battle! Magneto is…"

"No!" cried Scott, preparing to blast the tube open.

"Do that and he won't survive the decompression." warned Magneto.

"Yeah," threatened Scott, turning his eyes on Magneto, "Well odds aren't that great for you either!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Alex broke in, "Come on, man. This is no good. They're having a little time out. So what? Look, I don't get it either, but no one should be getting hurt here. You can't blame Magneto for being careful. All I know is that he just wants to help. And I need his help! Come on; holster that thing, would ya?

Scott groaned, giving into his little brother. "I don't like it." he stated.

"But your brother is right." interrupted Magneto, "I'm not you're enemy." He took off his helmet, revealing a kind face and white hair. "Nor am I Charles. Very soon, you will see the truth."

Scott sighed and walked out onto a balcony. He stood there alone, remembering the night of the plane crash that had robbed his family from him.

"Scott!" called Alex, coming up behind him, "…Are you okay?"

"I'm just… I dunno… remembering." replied Scott.

"Yeah…" agreed Alex solemnly, "Still wakes me up at night.

They stood there in silence for a few minutes, remembering. "I hit the ground pretty hard." Scott broke the silence, "I spent a month in a coma. The hospital said I was the only one who made it. I wanted to be there for you, Alex. Really, I did… sorry."

Alex smiled. "Don't sweat it, you know." he comforted, "I got along alright. My foster parents are pretty nice." He gritted his teeth and massaged his joints.

"What's wrong?" asked Scott, sounding concerned.

"Ah, man." replied Alex, "Joints are on fire. I went to doctors, but nobody could tell me what it was… Until today, when I met Magneto. Now I know what I am."

"How has he promised to help you, Alex?" questioned Scott. He was still doubtful.

"Not just Alex, Scott." said Magneto, who had been standing quietly in the shadows for some time. "You as well. Everyone. Together we will embark upon a wondrous renaissance. I invite you to be a part of it."

He led Scott and Alex back inside. "I built it right into the Asteroid." he explained, "Behold! The next step in Mutant evolution!" Sabertooth was now present, standing beside a circular metal door."

"What is it?" asked Scott, skeptically.

"It's my enhancer." answered Magneto proudly, "Perhaps you've heard of the legendary gems of Cyttorak." He took a shining crimson stone out of his cape and held it up so that it gleamed in the light. "Well… they do exist. Once believed to possess mystical properties, these stones actually emit a very distinct radiation."

"Hey! Wait a minute!" exclaimed Alex, "You're gonna nuke us?!"

"I'm going to enhance you, Alex!" exclaimed Magneto excitedly. He had a huge grin on his face, like a child who had just been given a large chocolate bar. "All of you! To finish your growth! No more pain, Alex. No more hiding behind that visor, Scott. Your powers will be fully realized, giving you complete control!"

"What about them?" protested Scott, gesturing to the four silent figures in the tubes, "I want them released!"

"They will be." assured Magneto, exactly the same as before, "But only when you have gone through the transformation. I want them to see what I am offering!"

He raised his hand, causing the circular door to open, and control panels to flicker to life. "And it is an offer, Scott." reminded Magneto, "I won't force you to go through it."

"We're supposed to just trust this thing works?" questioned Scott, "You go through it, then!"

Magneto straightened up and put his hands on his hips. "I have." he stated proudly, "I've fully advanced. But why don't I provide you with a real first hand demonstration? Sabertooth."

The large cat-like being growled and then stepped into the machine as a bright pink light shone from within.

"In a few moments, he will emerge… reborn." informed Magneto in a dramatic tone.

Another door opened, and a bulky figure walked forwards, silhouetted by the blinding pink light. An older, more advanced, and much uglier Sabertooth thundered forwards. The gigantic creature roared, causing Alex and Scott to take a nervous step backwards.

Magneto turned to them. "Boys." he announced, "It's time to reach your full potential."

"What do you think, Scott?" asked Alex nervously, "I know I want to, but not without you."

Slowly, Scott nodded and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"And now for an appreciative audience." said Magneto, pointing a long finger towards the tubes across the room, triggering something that made the captives stir back to consciousness.

The door to the enhancer opened, and the two boys stepped in. Jean saw them and gasped. "Scott!" she yelled frantically, "No, don't!" But she couldn't be heard through the glass.

As soon as Professor Xavier was awake, he immediately contacted Scott, using his telepathy. "Scott! I know what Magneto is doing. This thing will alter your mind. Get out of there! Please!"

Scott turned around, but the heavy door swung shut.

"Too late Charles." mocked Magneto, "They're mine now."

A few moments later, Scott and Alex emerged as tall, white haired men.

"Come." commanded Magneto, "The world awaits you."

"Pain's gone!" exclaimed the man resembling Alex.

"And you shall be called Havok." announced Magneto, "Go on, Scott. Show us the colour of your eyes."

**!!START READING HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THE EPISODE!!**

Scott removed his glasses to reveal pitch black colourless irises.

"Another benefit to your enhancement." informed Magneto, "Your brains. They're purged of useless emotion. You should now have a clear perspective of our dominant roles here on earth. Now- Who's next?"

"You'll never get away with this, Magneto." thought the professor into his head, "My X-men will never join you."

Magneto chuckled and turned around. "Charles," he said, "Charles, do you honestly think you have a choice?"

Standing over to the side were Avalanche, Quicksilver, and Blob. They looked as if they wanted to run forwards straight into the enhancer. Magneto cast them a warning look, and they attempted to hide their eagerness.

"You have forgotten." reminded Xavier, "Those who you have left behind are not worthless, as you think they are. They will be here. You will see."

"Very well." agreed Magneto, "Then we shall just wait here to see what challenge they will provide for us. I have time."

Minutes passed, which soon turned into hours. Everyone was quiet. The captives glaring through their glass and the others standing respectfully at attention.

Eventually, Storm became uneasy. Professor Xavier was sending her comforting thoughts, but even that stopped working after a while. She began to feel faint, and lost all control.

"Alright, I'll do it!" she screamed, "I'll go, just get me out of here."

"Excellent." said Magneto, stepping forward and rubbing his palms together. He raised a hand and Storm's tube opened. She fell to the ground, to weak to summon up more than a slight breeze that made Magneto's cape flutter for a few seconds before falling still. Sabertooth walked over and picked her up, flinging her roughly over his shoulder. He placed her none too carefully on the metallic floor of the enhancer and stepped back quickly as the brilliant light once again shone from somewhere in the depths of the machine.

Everyone held their breath as the machine whirred into life. Then, what seemed like an eternity later, the boy of Storm emerged from the other door. She was staring passively at some invisible speck on the wall opposite her. Although she looked as strong as ever, the sight of her was terrifyingly grotesque. Her bronze skin had turned a sickly pale color, and her eyes were completely white like they always were when she used her powers, only now they weren't glowing at all.

All of a sudden there was a huge crash as the Blackbird landed through the roof. All heads snapped in that direction. The hatch opened and Mystique climbed out.

"Mystique." spat Magneto, "You never could take no as an answer, could you?"

She had no other response than to launch herself screaming at the metal-clad man. Fighting broke out all over the vast room. Wolverine jumped from the roof of the blackbird and sliced the tubes that captivated Rogue, Jean and Professor X in a matter of seconds, before charging at Sabertooth. At the same time, Shadowcat dropped out of the bottom of the blackbird with Spyke, and Nightcrawler appeared with Toad beside her.

Toad bounded over to help Mystique with one giant hop. Nightcrawler approached Blob, and Spyke charged at Quicksilver. Shadowcat ran over to Avalanche and phased him into the solid rock of the Asteroid. "Lance!" she shouted right into his face, "What do you think you're doing?!"

Avalanche replied, "I'm supposed to be here. I won, you lost. You're only getting in the way of our destiny." Then his eyes rolled back into his head and the ground around him split into two, creating just enough space for him to climb out easily. Avalanche ran a few feet and sent rock shooting up from the ground towards Shadowcat.

She quickly phased into the ground and set off running through the solid rock towards where Spyke had his hands full with Quicksilver. Shadowcat rose back up to the surface and dove over to where the two boys were, grabbing Quicksilver's ankles in the process and dragging him up to his knees into the ground. Given the sudden lack of movement, Spyke took the opportunity to pin his enemy to the ground with a couple spikes from his wrists.

Meanwhile, Nightcrawler had finished with blob, and was now frantically attempting to keep Storm busy. Toad and Mystique were nowhere to be seen. Shadowcat ran to help Wolverine, who had been pinned to the ground by Sabertooth. Spyke rushed over to Storm.

"Auntie O!" he shouted, "You have to snap out of it!" She looked at him with vacant white eyes. She raised an arm and a storm cloud released a bolt of lightning. Just in time, Nightcrawler grabbed his wrist and teleported him a few feet out of the way. The lightning struck exactly where Spyke had been standing a split second ago.

"RETREAT!" bellowed Wolverine. Everyone dashed to the black bird, and they were in the air within a few seconds. However, Magneto wasn't having that. The X-men had made it a few miles when they ran into a freak hurricane.

"Storm." growled Wolverine under his breath, "Why don't you snap out of this? Come on, I know you're stronger than this. You don't let nobody push you around."

There was a low humming sound, and Wolverine was ripped away from the controls. "Can't… move." he grunted through clenched teeth. Then, without warning, he plunged three adamantium claws through the control panel. "NO!" he bellowed. They were flying through the hurricane with no control- being thrown every which way. Jean attempted to use her powers to help steady the blackbird, but it was too much for her, and after a couple minutes she passed out.

Finally, a bolt of lightning fell from the sky and with a sickening creak, the plane split in two and it's passengers fell to the ground, being scattered many miles away from each other. Years passed, all members of the X-men lived their very different lives. All of them thinking that everyone else had died in the crash.


	9. Rogue

**I am so sorry that it took me forever to update again. No writers block this time, just LWS (lazy writer syndrome made to sound fancy). I was just a little ticked off and un-motivated because I ONLY GOT ONE REVIEW. And it was from an anonymous person called xF4ct0r. They wrote "What happened to Rogue?" The truth is that I completely forgot about her and hoped that no one would notice. If the people who have me on story alert don't review, then I will personally message them (I can do that) and ask them why they didn't review.  
**

**Anyways, this chapter is a continuation of Spyke's story. Which is now also Wolverine's and Rogue's story as well I guess. I know I spoiled that, but I already put it in the chapter title. **

**I ASK FOR 2 REVIEWS THIS CHAPTER AT LEAST! That is not much, it's the least you can do for me. **

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"People" said Spyke, "People everywhere."

"Will you shut your trap!?" exclaimed Logan, "Keep it up, and you'll drive me just as insane as you are."

Spyke said nothing. They had been gone about a fortnight, and had made their way down to New Orleans on Wolverine's bike, and had found themselves back in New York City. They didn't want to go too far for fear that Professor Xavier could be in trouble and they would not be able to get to him in time.

What were they doing traveling the country like this? Looking- looking for people who they didn't know were actually still existent. 'Helping things along', as it turned out, meant searching for the members of the old team. Looking for whoever might still be alive. Looking for five people in a country of more than 300 million proved to be a very difficult task. On top of the disheartening ratio, these five were probably the best hidden in there were.

"There's Lights." commented Spyke, "So many lights."

"That's it!" Wolverine turned a sharp corner on his bike, causing Spyke jerk around like a rag doll. "You are driving me up the freaking wall, kid. I need a drink." The bike came an abrupt halt outside a small but noisy bar.

"Come on kid." called Wolverine as he walked towards the enticing lights of the small building. Spyke stayed on the bike.

"I can't." he said quietly, but Wolverine's ears picked it up, "I'm not 21 yet."

"You actually talking to me this time?" questioned Wolverine with a small hint of surprise in his tone.

"Yeah…" said Spyke a little louder, "I can't go in there. I'm not old enough."

"Well do you actually think I'm gonna bust you?" questioned Wolverine. Spyke shook his head nervously. "We then get your butt over here. I can't wait around all night. Just stand up straight and wipe that look off your face."

They shoved their way through the crowd and found two seats at the counter. Facing backwards, rubbing a glass with a grimy rag, was a young woman. She was built strong, had pale skin, and had her rusty coloured hair tied back into a bun. She wore elbow length gloves that were almost the same colour as her skin. "Double whisky" called Wolverine. The woman gave him a small nod and pulled a bottle off a shelf and a glass off of a stack.

"What do you want?" he asked Spyke. As usual, the boy stayed silent and just shook his head. "Insane." mumbled Wolverine.

A glass of something clear (AN: I have no idea what whisky looks like.) that definitely wasn't water was placed in front of Wolverine with a loud thunk. He slid a couple dollars forward. The woman picked them up, walked a few paces away and began wiping up the counter where a very drunk man had spilled something with a very strong smell. Spyke let his eyes wander over to her. There was something vaguely familiar about her, though he couldn't think what it was. He had used to live in this city himself, so it could have been someone who he had just taken the bus with a couple times. But he knew it wasn't- he had known this person better than that. As he studied her closer, he noticed he hair was died. There were white hairs peeking through her scalp… but only where her bangs grew from.

"What are you looking at son?" The voice shook Spyke back to his normal semi-alert state. The woman spoke with a thick southern accent. That was very uncommon for New York. Looking into her face properly, he realized that she wasn't as old as she had first appeared to be probably not much older than 20. Maybe 22 at the most. "Well?" she questioned, "Do you talk or what?"

Wolverine finished downing his drink and looked up. "Whossis?" he slurred.

"Your friend here," the woman asked Wolverine, "He doesn't talk much, does he?"

"Nah." replied Wolverine, "A bit weird too."

"What's your name?" asked Spyke nervously.

She jerked her head around quickly and glared at the boy. Spyke swallowed nervously. "Who wants to know?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Me." he said, "I'm… Spyke."

"Marie." she said starring straight into the boy's face.

"Marie?" asked Wolverine from his stool, which he was just barely still sitting on, "Can I get another round over here?"

She threw the rag that she had been using to clean up with into the sink, and wiped her hands on her apron before simply taking a bottle off of the shelf and putting it in front of Wolverine. She turned back to Spyke. "That's an interesting name. Any reason why you're named that?"

"Uh huh." said Spyke, who was surprised by his sudden confidence, "But I can't tell you, it's a secret. But it isn't my real name." He knew what he was saying sounded stupid, but he didn't care. For some reason, he felt like he could trust this… Marie. It was a nice name, but somehow it didn't suit her much.

"Oh, I see." she replied, "Do you have real name?"

"Yeah…" Spyke hesitated, thinking for a moment, "I can't quite remember, but I think it might be something like… Evan?"

"Evan." repeated Marie, "That's a pretty cool name. What about him?" She pointed at Wolverine, who had his head down and was drooling on the counter. "Does he have a name?"

"It's Wolverine." whispered Spyke, "He doesn't like telling people for some reason, but I trust you."

She motioned for him to come closer. He leaned farther over the counter. "Why are you here Spyke?"

"We're on a mission." he whispered, "We have to find Jean and Shadowcat and Nightcrawler and… Rogue?"

"Yes." she said even quieter, "I'm off in a few minutes, and we can drag the animal over there back to my place. It's only a few blocks, and you look strong enough."

Spyke nodded happily a couple times, going back into his silence. Rogue took off her apron and hung it on a hook. She put a couple empty glasses into the sink, and waved as her relief came out of the back room. She grabbed her coast and hurried over to help Spyke with the currently dead weight of Wolverine.

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**REVIEW DAMMIT!!**


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